The West African Examinations Council has barred two secondary schools in Imo State from registering as an examination centre or presenting their pupils as candidates in any of its examinations for a period of five years.

This is just as 28 other schools across the country have been derecognised for two years for engaging in examination malpractices.

The Head, Public Affairs of the council, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, said this on Thursday in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

Ojijeogu, who declined to name the affected schools, added that a supervisor was assaulted in one of the Imo schools, noting that WAEC officials were “locked out for more than 30 minutes in the second school obviously to perpetrate examination malpractice.’’

Explaining the difference between derecognising a school and withdrawing the recognition given to a school, Ojijeogu said the one which had been derecognised by the council could still be used as an examination centre but without the participation of its teachers as invigilators, while a school whose recognition had been withdrawn could no longer be used as a centre nor have its teachers participate as invigilators for a period of five years.

He said, “We don’t usually name the schools because we refer to them by their centre numbers. For the derecognised schools, examination can still hold in the school but we will not use their teachers as invigilator. There are 28 of those schools across the country and they can still reapply after two years, telling us what they have put in place to prevent a recurrence of examination malpractice.”